I did not see that one coming!
by Blue cookiesSeriously
Summary: Leo Valdez's life returned to demi-god-standard-normal after the war. Until a young child is shipwrecked at Camp and changes his life. He learns an amazing secret about her, and has to protect her whilst not destroying the world in the process. With tacos, possesed dragons and crazy spirits, he gets an adventure of a lifetime, including a messed up powerful family and friends.
1. Chapter One

She watched the sea, which twinkled like stars, mermerised. She would have probably been gardening right now, but she didn't feel like it. Which was quite surprising, as it was one of her favorite things to do on a normal day. But today...she had a feeling. Something felt...different. What was worse, she had no idea what.

She cautiously walked across the beach, sand tickling her toes and sat down on a spot. She sighed, bored and feeling quite lonely.

A sudden wind swept across the land, which jerked her awake. Her heart hammered against her chest, but she calmed herself down.

Probably nothing, just her imagination running wild.

When she lost count of the time, she carefully stood up, brushed the sand of her jeans, and decided to do something to kill the the time.

That's when something exploded.

_Bang!_

Even she had to admit, she did not see that one coming.

A chill ran down her spine. She knew whatever it was, she was not going to like it.

Biting her lip, she ran towards the fire, nearly tripping.

Without warning, the ground shook and began to split. Slowly, she backed away.

Another sudden explosion threw her off her feet and she silently cursed.

It was then she realized what was happening.

The beach sands were hurricanes storming at her, and the whole land seemed to be controlled by something.

But what?

Thunder split the sky, almost trying to fight the presence.

Oh, this was not going to be pretty.

After a few seconds, she looked up and nearly gasped.

Not pretty? That would be anything but the truth.

She was beautiful.

Immediately, she knew that it was a goddess.

She seemed to be the whole world. Green and sea blue was etched across her skin. The whole world...

Gaea.

Gulping, she braced herself for whatever happened next,

Instead, the goddess smiled.

She had to remind herself how evil this godess was.

Gaea held out a hand and said,

"My poor girl. Poor, poor girl. Still here, I see. I can help. Join me, and you will be free of all your worries. Hold my hand and we shall unite, and destroy the gods. Don't you want that after all that has happened to you?. Come with me, child, and we shall Rule. Come..."

For a few moments, she was tempted. Wasn't this better?

Then she remembered everything else.

Gaea was evil. She was not.

She didn't want power, even if she was powerful.

And if she joined... Who knows what Gaea could do?

"No." She said boldly.

Gaea's smile faltered, "What?"

"I said, I don't want to join you. Whatever happens."

The ground rumbled beneath her feet.

"Are you sure? This is an offer one cannot refuse-"

"No. And the decision is final."

An angry look appeared in Gaea's eyes. She began to fade.

"You will regret this decision for eternity, I promise you child."

There was a wave of sand blinding her, and Gaea disappeared.

The power made her tremble, and she heard voices from the sky saying the one same thing before she blacked out.

"Thank you."


	2. Chapter Two

A gift.

That was what was in the basket, he had said.

Of course this had been his idea. He always had a soft spot for her, and treated her as if she was his daughter.

She smiled. At least some one accepted her.

The basket was one of those typical little red riding hood baskets, just slightly bigger. There was a red ribbon tied on the handle.

Thank you, they had said, as she had at least kind of proven she wasn't an enemy. Hopefully.

She sighed, with sadness or relief, she had no idea.

She was almost afraid what was in the basket. Hopefully not something dangerous. She shuddered at the thought.

Cautiously, she peeked into the baaket .

Her eyes widened with shock. It had been no joke when they said it was a gift.

Biting her lip, she picked it up and carried it in her strong arms.

That's when she realized something about this gift, how it looked like-

She pushed the thought out of her head. No one ( unless they already knew) could find out about this.

No one.

She swore to protect this with all her powers.

That's when she noticed a note on the basket.

_This could change your life and make it better. I know it will. After all, I made these thousands of years ago. Its part of you now. Literally . And thank you. _

_H. _

She grinned for probably the millionth time today. She stared out to the waters and to her arms.

It might not end as unlucky as her life. Maybe. She slumped on to the ground, feeling lightheaded.

Maybe.

Of course the fates didn't want _that_ to happen.


	3. Chapter Three

Okay, that did it.

The fates absolutely despised her.

And she had no idea what she'd even done!

Well. She knew her luck wouldn't last for long.

For the last few weeks, or months, she had stopped feeling lonely and isolated, and and started feeling happy, for once, and almost like she had a reason to live. Now that was all gone.

Usually, she would start talking to her self, and then have an argument with herself, (usually losing) which ended up with her throwing stuff everywhere, then suddenly sitting down and bursting randomly into tears. That 'habit' had stopped; instead it meant taking care of it, being responsible, even if it meant her gardens usually ended up looking like it had been through an earthquake and in flames.

_Care of it... _no, her.

Family was something she had wanted for years and years. Her father had technically betrayed and her mother... she forgot.

Her life just sucked.

And then it changed. To something better, something she deserved.

Until she came back.

Gaea.

* * *

It was one dark evening, as a dark blue blanket covered the sky and all was quiet.

She had put the young one to sleep.

She stared again at the sea, her clothes dirty with mud, and soil literally painted on her arms.

Then she felt it.

The same presence she felt before.

"Oh no no no" She whispered.

Her long, flawless fingers dug into the earth, as her frustration fell upon her face.

She braced herself for whatever was going to happen to her.

"Gods, when do I get a rest?"

Suddenly, the ground rumbled again. She could almost feeling the power running through it. Gaea seemed to have gotten a lot more powerful. That thought really didn't help.

Quickly, she shot to her feet and ran back to her gardens.

_BANG! _

"Never mind, " She mumbled, "Not like it took me years of work."

The floor burned her bare feet, and the smoke in the air suffocated her. Her breathing seemed to slow down.

Something disintregated and burned into ashes in front of her. She squinted her eyes to see properly. Smoke surrounded the...thing.

The creature was amazingly big, towering over her, like it could squish her with its little toe.

Oh.

A giant. Kids of Gaea.

Wonderful.

It spoke, in a thundering voice, "You disobeyed our mother. For this you shall pay. You will come with us and work for her. Away from your home."

She might have, if Gaea wasn't all: _I'm going to turn you into a human kebab if you don't obey._ Maybe.

Nah.

The giant's arms reached out to grab her, but she easily dodged it, then pushed a tree, which hung on an edge. The tree hit the giant, causing a diversion.

"Sorry! I'l think about it. ... Actually, no thanks! Maybe, in a ... million years?" She called out as she ran.

Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered the child. And she knew what to do.

Did Gaea know? If she did...

She forced herself to not think about it.

She could hear the terrifying voice above her,

"_I warned you that you could regret your decision..."_

Cursing, she picked up her speed, as the trees burned down. The remains covered her eyes, blinding her.

She burst into the cave, and scanned around for the child. The explosions could still be heard in the background; everything was all ruined.

All because Gaea wanted her to work for her and she refused.

Coughing, she stumbled to see that the child was all right.

Gaea didn't know... thank the gods.

Fingers trembling with anxiety, she grabbed the closest piece of cloth and wrapped the sleeping, innocent kid with it. Slowly, she placed it in the same magical basket which had carried the child here.

Hugging it to her chest, she cautiously hurried to the sea.

It was a light blue, and crimson with the reflections of the terror .

Shaking, she kneeled down and placed the basket carefully on the waters. She blessed it to where the destination was. Biting her lip to stop the tears, she looked up at the sky, almost conveying a message.

"May Neptune protect you," she whispered and kissed her softly on the cheek.

Rising, she spun around, as the waters carried the basket away.

She wasn't going to be scared of Gaea. She was fed up. She was powerful. She would help destroy her.

And with that, she walked into the flames.


	4. Chapter Four

Reyna, praetor of Rome. walked around Camp Half Blood, for the first time, when there _wasn't_ a war. She could easily understand why Jason liked this place. It was a place of freedom when being a demi-god, without so many rules. Still, she liked her camp to be in order.

The leaders of the camp were nice, and so was Chiron. _The _Chiron. The one who trained Hercules. Of course, there was Bacchus, no, Dionysus here as well. A god in their camp? Quite impressive, even if it was a punishment.

Reyna looked around, trying to find any familiar faces but no...

All the Greek demi-gods stared at her instead. She knew immediately that they figured out she was a Roman Leader.

Sighing, she kept going forwards, no idea where she was.

That's when she saw him.

Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades.

Whilst travelling with him, she had learned a lot about the son of the god of the underworld. Reyna had realised how lonely he was, and about his life, the fact that he was from 1940's and losing a sister. She knew how it felt; with Hylla, queen of the Amazons. But Nico had lost his only sister with death, the only person who accepted him. It actually hurt her, seeing him like that, but Reyna knew he hated pity.

Right now? She would probably have no idea he was a son of Hades.

Well.

Except for the black skull shirt and ring. Otherwise...

Nico was on the floor, his laugh tinkling through the air. Beside him was a cup with a drink which she could easily recognise: Kool Aid.

Wow. The son of Hades was drunk on Kool-aid. Something to always remember.

"Nico?" She asked. Nico laughed as he looked up. His protective walls had gone down. "Hey, Reyna!"

Cautiously (must be alert with a drunk child of Hades/Pluto at all times), she sat down next to him. That's when she realised he was holding two packets of...something.

"What are they?" Reyna asked.

"Skittles."

The only skittles she could think of was the bowling type.

"Huh?"

"Sweet skittles. Rainbow!"

"What are you talking about, Nico?"

He held in his hands a few sweet type looking snack. Then, he ate all of it in one go, eyes shining.

Nico held some out to her. "Want some? These are the normal type," Normal?

Frowning, Reyna took some and put it in her mouth. The taste of fruit and sugar exploded in her mouth.

"Nice. But must say, I prefer jelly beans."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Hard to impress," he mumbled.

Suddenly, he stood up, grabbing her hand. _Smiling...grinning...holding her hand..._

Reyna liked this happier Nico.

"Let's go to the Iris cabin!" He said

"Okay!" She answered.

As they walked, she couldn't help asking, "What's this about?"

"I went to the Hecate cabin," He said, shaking the second pack of skittles.

Like that made any sense.

Nico grinned madly, giggling.

_Giggling...wow, this is a one-off for the son of Hades. _

Then, he walked to the Iris cabin and knocked on the door, loudly.

One of the Iris cabin kids, opened the door, looking annoyed. "What is it?" He asked.

Nico gestured to open the door more.

The boy did so. Reyna saw the whole cabin room, with all the Iris children staring at Nico.

"Okay..." Nico started, "Have you ever tasted a rainbow?"

Everyone stared at him.

Of course, wasn't Iris the goddess of rainbows?

The boy looked at his siblings then at Nico.

"No...?"

Nico eyes widened with happiness.

He opened the packet of skittles and threw them at everyone.

"TASTE THE RAINBOWS!" He yelled. "Well. Be them anyway." Nico finished, just before falling into Reyna's arms and snoring. Ah. The Kool-Aid must have worn off.

As the cabin shared confused look, as Reyna gasped.

When the skittles touched someone, they turned a colour of the rainbow. When everyone realised what was going on, they looked terrified. One child looked at the unconscious Nico and said, "Dude. I'm Green. I look like Puke. Thanks."

"Sorry about this..." Reyna said quickly, before lifting Nico and hurrying away.

Last time they had been like this was when they were fighting some monsters. Reyna was like an older sister to Nico.

_I'm not what you want, but I'm all that you have, She told the weak boy, as Coach Hedge slept peacefully in the corner. _

She carried the boy to the Hades Cabin, smiling.

* * *

Leo Valdez was bored. He was fixing Festus, who was all he had except for Buford.

_Wow, _He thought,_ I must be very anti-socialising. Yikes!_

Piper and Jason, were on a date, and he doubted they wanted the third wheel along with them.

He sighed. Why did he have to be so lonely?

Leo couldn't help looking at all the blueprints to fix Festus.

He was only fixing him, because he wanted his best mate back, and of course...

Her.

He grabbed the nearest tool and threw it across the room, frustration etched across his face. Head in his hands, he slid down the wall, and sat down.

_Right, _He thought, _I need to stop this. Do something. Or not. Like talk. Right. To friends. _

_If you had any. _

_Nope, you're awesome! You're Leo Valdez. _

Whoa. He couldn't help grinning. He was having arguments with himself. And losing, but still...

That wasn't the main point.

"Leo!" The voice shook him out of his thoughts.

He stood up and walked outside.

It was Piper and Jason.

"Guys? What-"

"Come on! It's Chiron. Something's happened at the beach. "

"Percy?"

"No!- Come on!"

They both ran away, hand in hand.

"Thanks," He said, sarcasm dripping his voice.

He slowly walked to the beach. It couldn't be that important.

On the way, he knocked into Reyna. Oh Oh.

Praetor of Rome, the camp he blew up. He wondered if she had still forgiven him.

He saw Nico sleeping, carried by her.

Nico...?

"Um...hi?"

Reyna rolled her eyes. Leo saw that she found it slightly difficult to carry Nico.

"Want some help? What's happened with him?"

Surprisingly, she lowered Nico so Leo could help.

"Yeah. Um..he's drunk on Kool-Aid."

Reyna ignored the look on Leo's face.

Together, they both walked with Nico to the beach.

* * *

At the beach, there was a small crowd.

Pushing through, the trio barged into the front, trying to work out what was happening.

Everyone had their weapons out. Chiron stood there next to them, watching intensely.

A small figure rose.

Leo's eyes widened as they saw what it was. He almost laughed.

A young girl.


	5. Chapter Five

Leo had to admit he had absolutely no idea what in the world was going on.

"It just a small... kid. Poor thing." Reyna whispered beside him. Her expression softened as she lowered her weapon. She wasn't the only one,

Chiron relaxed.

Leo gave Reyna a look.

"What?" She said, "She's cute and innocent. Everyone thinks so,"

She was right. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank and Hazel seemed to calm down. None of them looked dangerous or like they could kill a hellhound just by blinking.

Suddenly, Nico woke up. Leo could feel him jump in his arms.

"Dude. What the Hades... Ow. " He rubbed his head.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "You were drunk."

Nico gave a confused look, replaced by annoyance.

"My reputation is ruined." He groaned.

Leo and Reyna began to laugh. Then they all stared at each other in a confused type of way.

The girl then showed her face. She was small, unlike kids her age.

But she was absolutely adorable. A chorus of Aww's fell upon the crowd.

Even the Ares kids found her cute.

The girl stood up, her toes buried in the sand. Crystals of the beach were scattered all over her.

Her big eyes widened in shock. Then she pointed at Chiron, "Chicken pony man!"

Chiron smiled as everyone burst out laughing. Her voice was angelic, like an... angel.

Small figure, and dark, beautiful curls fell upon her face, which looked slightly golden, but natural. Her eyes were almond, filled with curiosity. The girl took a few steps forward, nearly tripping.

Then, she looked up at everyone, with a slightly scared expression on her face. She couldn't have reached 7, but there was something magical about her age. Not normal; even for demi-gods.

Percy stepped forward as a greeting, but she suddenly stepped backwards, almost terrified of him. Frowning, Percy backed away, as the rest of the seven tried to comfort her.

But the shipwrecked child didn't seem to want to be with them.

That was when the girl locked eyes with Leo. They reminded him of one person, but he couldn't figure out who. She gave him a small smile.

Leo wondered if anyone would trust him with the child.

He stepped forward.

"Leo..." Annabeth started.

Slowly, he kneeled down in front of the girl. She didn't back away, just stared at him, an expression on her face somewhere between a frown and a grin.

She walked again, but held Leo to stand straight without falling.

"Hi," Leo started, "My name is Leo. What's yours?"

She kept quiet before whispering, "Skye."

"Skye?"

"Yes," She answered, " My mom said it made sense and it was ir...iro..ironic almost?" She shrugged, laughing slightly. Then she bit her lip; Leo knew she was remembering her mother.

Leo lowered his voice, "Do you know why you're here?"

Skye shook her head, "I remember...attacking, but.." Her face fell.

"I think...it was my fault, "

Leo gave her a look, "It was not your fault. Okay? Promise me to never think that again. You're going to be fine, I promise. You're probably just one of us," He finished gesturing at the crowd.

Silence fell upon them.

Her eyebrows knotted together, "Is that... a flying horse? ...Does that cliff have lava on it?" Leo grinned madly.

"Sweetheart, you have a lot to learn, Come on," He said, holding out his arms.

Skye almost ran to him, burying herself in Leo's chest. He lifted her up.

"Okay you see, this, is Camp Half-Blood. And I'm gonna give you a tour. Permission Chiron?"

Chiron nodded, but he seemed almost...worried like realising something that was wrong. Skye seemed to feel it too.

"Leo.." Reyna said, "Look..."

Skye looked up.

Chiron seemed to be more confused that ever, but seemed to relax slightly. Slightly.

An image of a hammer soared above her.

Sign of Hephestus.

Skye was a daughter of Hephestus. Or, Leo's half-sister,

Looking a little bit grim, but less concerned, Chiron took a deep breath

"Hail, Skye, Daughter of Hephestus,"


	6. Chapter Six

Nico decided this was the best time to run away.

And never return.

_I'm leaving. Forever. And never coming back. _

He knew. Jason _knew_. And whenever he reminded himself he just either wanted to die or bury himself in a grave in shame. Jason acted as if he would keep a secret; but in Camp-Half Blood a secret usually meant that everyone would know soon enough.

The embarrassment was too much and ever since then- with Cupid- Nico knew he had to leave faster. It wasn't like anyone would care. Well, maybe Hazel...but she had Frank. Maybe he could return to see her one day. Maybe.

Maybe not.

Then there was Reyna. She was like a sister to him. However, she had a duty to run Camp-Jupiter. She probably would forget him.

Sighing, he rolled out of bed and landed on the floor. _Thump. _

Nico hoped no one heard that.

Anyway, this was the perfect time to leave. Skye, Leo's half-sister, had come and everyone was talking about her. How she was shipwrecked. Who had sent her? Probably her mother, with the help of a ...god?

Who knows?

Atleast Leo was happy. His loneleness had been completely wiped away ever since she came. Skye only seemed to trust Leo out of all the seven; they had spend the whole day touring the camp.

Plus, she was adorable.

Nico had already packed his bags yesterday. He was going to pack water so headed towards the Dionysus cabin. As well as water, they gave him Kool-Aid. When he drank it, he became lightweight and happy. Someone had added waaayy too much sugar in that drink.

Where he got the skittles from, he had no idea. The Hecate Cabin...? When he woke up, he was being carried by Reyna and Leo. And Nico had been like, _What the Hades just happened...?_

Cautiously, he sneaked out of his cabin. He could have shadowtravelled, but there would be no use; there was no distance _and _it would drain the energy out of him. Tired from lack of sleep, he walked towards Thalia's tree. It had been _that _simple?

No one popping out from behind a tree and asking what he was doing? Somewhere in his heart, Nico wanted someone to notice. Someone that cared for him, like Annabeth did with Percy. When Percy had gone missing, everyone was looking for him. _Everyone. _

_Percy..._

He shook away his thoughts of fury and hatred for him.

_Shut up, Nico _

Someone just realising that he was missing was the least they could do. Well, like that was going to happen.

Smiling, he took one step forward and was out of the barriers.

"Well. That was easy."

For a millisecond, he glanced back to see the place he was leaving. The safest place on earth for him. But the again, not his most favourite place- no one accepted him because he was a son of Hades.

He stopped, looking forward. A new start. And new beginning.

Suddenly, he shivered;Nico could sense a life force behind him. Just before he could turn around...

"What in the name of Hades do you thing you are doing?"


	7. Chapter Seven

**Thank you guys for your awesome reviews! **

**KJtheELMtree: :)**

**Fangirling Gymnast: Please don't cry.**

**I would keep going on, but seriously I want to get on with the story. I'm guessing you would like to as well. By the way, who do you like better? **

**Percy's mom, or Leo's mom? I can't decide. Can you guys? **

* * *

"What do you think you're doing?"

Nico flinched and stiffened as he slowly spun around.

A boy with dark curls stood there, glaring at him accusingly. Nico mentally groaned.

Leo Valdez.

"What do you want?" He growled.

Leo frowned. "What do you think you're doing? Running away? Look, I know you hated us... what will Hazel say?"

Nico bit his lip, "This is not the time... I'm leaving.. get it?"

"You're leaving?" This voice was not Leo's.

A young girl, appeared from behind Leo's legs. She was hiding there. _Skye. _

Leo looked at her, then at Nico, "Hazel loves you. She looks up to you, admires you. You're just going to leave her? Your sister? Just like that?"

Nico flinched again. He was right. Hazel did look up to him. Just like he did with Bianca. Nico closed his eyes, trying to escape the pain. Bianca left him for the hunters...

Guilt filled him. "So.." He whispered, "What do you want me to do?"

Leo looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Stay here, duh!"

Nico cursed under his breath, then focused on Skye. She was watching him, with her huge, adorable eyes.

"May I ask you... what are you doing here?"

Leo grinned. "Well, this girl, " He pointed at Skye, who was also smiling, "is just as ADHD as me, and stayed awake the whole night. So, I decided to take her outside, and I heard a thump from your cabin,"

Oh. So it was loud.

Leo yawned, bags under his eyes. He rubbed his eyes. Of course, he was awake the whole night.

Skye was still watching him. Of course, when she finds out he's a son of the god of death, she would stay away from him.

Suddenly, Skye walked up to him and held out a hand, "Hello. I'm Skye. What's your name?"

Cautiously, he shook her small hand. "Nico. Nico di Angelo"

"Who is your parent?" Nico stiffened.

"No one. Don't worry."

Leo gave him a look, but Nico saw that Leo understood.

"Who is it?" Skye asked again, more curious than ever.

Nico sighed. He couldn't' keep going on. "Hades. God of Death. There you go. Happy?" That sentence brought him back horrifying memories.

Skye's eyes widened.

The Ghost King was slightly disappointed, but he recognised this. Next, the slow backing away and the excuse to go somewhere. Then there were the rumours.

"Is it true that your dad has blue fire shooting out of his head?"

"..." Nico stared at her, expressionless. Even Leo looked- _What the Hades?_

Then suddenly he burst out laughing. Leo joined in. Skye looked slightly confused, but the laughing was contagious.

They wondered what the camp would think if they saw this. A son of Hades, with packed bags and two children of Hephestus laughing their heads of.

"Okay, " Nico said, when he stopped, still shaking, " No, not really."

Skye smiled. "Does he look like you?"

Nico nodded. Leo grinned. "Dude, You laughed. You laughed. Hallelujah!" He picked Skye and swung her around.

"I think Hades is cool. " Skye began, "He can bring people back to life. But he's only grumpy because he's the unluckiest of his brothers. Can I get his autograph? I want to meet him,"

Nico smiled sadly. "You will meet him. That's what everyone is scared about. They think he's a really bad parent, I guess."

"But didn't you ... live with him?" Skye asked. Where she got the information from, he had no idea. "He let you live with him as a family. He didn't ignore you. So how can he be bad? And maybe you can travel me to there once. "

Silence fell upon them.

Skye had an amazing point. Whilst every other demi-god thought Hades was a bad at taking care of Nico, they didn't live with their godly parents, did they?

Leo looked impressed. "Extremely good point there, Skye!" Skye grinned at him.

Leo yawned again.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" Nico asked.

"Dude." Leo stared at him. "Awesome sister to take care of here,!"

"Why don't I take care of her?" He held out both his hands. Skye looked at her brother.

Nico doubted Leo would trust the person he literally cared about most with a Son of God of the underworld, but he looked into the fire user's eyes. Leo trusted him.

"Go on. " He said. Skye kissed Leo's cheek and climbed into Nico arms and put her arms around him. Nico felt extremely weird at that moment.

He put his arms around her back.

Leo grinned for the 100th time. "Well, Skye, Nico if you're doing anything way too awesome, wake me up!" Then he walked away, looked slightly exhausted to his cabin.

Skye stared at him.

Nico grinned madly, something he hadn't done for a while. He felt important.

"Well, Skye,

"Have you heard of Mythomagic?"


	8. Chapter Eight

Leo woke up feeling quite... Responsible. Yep, that's the word. Groggily, he straightened and looked for Skye.

That's when he remembered yesterday. He had to admit, he had been expecting a monster of some kind and was surprised to find Nico. Running away.

He felt angry that he was leaving Hazel like that. Yes, there was history between them (weird history ), but that wasn't it. It was because he knew how it felt to lose someone. And Hazel loved Nico. If she lost him...

He jumped out of bed and looked through the window at the bright orange sky. He slipped on a pair of jeans and headed out of the cabin door. On the way, he knocked into Jason.

"Leo?"

"Duh, who else man?"

"What are you doing?" He asked, very confused.

"Long story, " Leo explained and shrugged, as if that ended everything. "Skye." He said, pointing at the Hades cabin.

Jason gave Leo a puzzled look, however Leo, grinning, brushed past him and walked towards that cabin.

Jason frowned. "Leo...? That 's... Okay." He walked forwards, in a daze, trying to work out why Leo was visiting Nico. And what did that even have to do with Skye?

"I must be dreaming. " He finally said, shaking his head.

* * *

Leo strolled up to the front steps. He could hear what was going on inside because it was so loud.

"I won! Ha, Nico!" That was Skye.

"Okay, how do you do it? Tell me your secret. I spent half my life playing this game and you beat me?! Play again!"

Nico sounded... Happy. Wow.

Leo heard someone blow a raspberry.

"Come back here, you little monster!" Nico yelled.

Leo walked in a scene where Nico chased after Skye and grabbed her. He spun her around and began to tickle her. Skye began to laugh manically.

"Stop... Stop... Okay, Nico, you win! Ha, ha, ha!"

Leo gave them a sad look. "I thought you said you would wake me up!"

Nico grinned. "We never said that... But join in the game. We are so beating your sister!"

Leo smiled madly. "You're on! So...how do you play?"

Skye grabbed Leo's arm and make him sit on the bed. Nico sat on the edge and held out all the cards.

"So, Leo Valdez, are you ready to face the Greek myths? Well, this is how we play..."

And so the three demi-gods spent half day in the Hades cabin, with Mythomagic.

* * *

Reyna had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling. Like a sister feeling when one of your siblings has done something wrong and you can feel it in your bones.

She also had a feeling it had something to do with Nico. First reaction?

Uh oh.

Immediately, she left Camp Jupiter to Frank, and Hazel. It was only for a while. The journey didn't take that long... Mostly because she had demigod powers on her side, for once.

She ran around Camp Half Blood and tried to find the Hades cabin. Reyna didn't bother with the hello's.

She burst in through the door. It slammed against the walls.

Reyna scanned the place.

It was empty.

"Damn it!" She shouted, slightly a bit too loudly.

Retreating, she roamed around, no idea what to do. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe-

"Shhh. Hide!"

Someone held her and pulled her down next to them behind a tree. Reyna took out her sword...only to face the daughter of Hephestus, Skye.

She lowered her weapon, still on guard.

"Uh..." Skye placed her fingers to Reyna's lips.

That's when she heard voices. They suddenly startled her. So much, she fell out of the hiding place. Stumbled, anyway.

"Ugh, " She groaned, pulling twigs and brushing dirt from her plaited hair. She looked up to see Leo and Nico.

Nico. Son of Hades.

Leo. He blew up half her camp, but he had been possessed. So...she didn't know what to think about him.

The boys glanced at each other, then gave a knowing look. Leo ran behind the tree and picked up Skye swiftly and carried her on her hip.

"How do you do it?" He asked. Skye smiled. Nico's face fell.

"I lost so many times. All thanks to this girl over there. " He pointed at Skye. She opened her mouth to speak and suddenly there was a huge argument between the three of them.

"That was not fair!" "You think?" "Do I get a say in this?" "NO!"

"What are you talking about?" Reyna asked.

"Mythomagic." They all said in unison.

"What's that?" She asked. The wrong thing to say.

Skye frowned at her. Leo mock gasped. Nico just yelled, "TRAITOR!" It had been a long time since he smiled and joked.

Leo grinned at everyone. "Another round?"

They all nodded. Reyna smiled. "At my camp. My praetor 'place'. Nico, you think you can shadow travel?"

Nico nodded. He held out his arms.

"Hold on everybody."

Skye stared at Reyna. "Can we have hot chocolate?"

"Course."

"Let's have two," Leo interrupted. "Each."

"Four. "

"Ten."

"Fifteen!" Skye shouted.

Leo shook his head. "We can't share it, though,It's not even" Typical child of Hephestus thing.

Skye gave him a look, "I meant, fifteen, for me." Nico snorted and everyone grabbed his hand.

"Fifteen hot chocolate, mythomagic and ... life stories? Sounds fun,"

"Huh, " Leo grumbled. Reyna laughed, as he took Skye's hand.

And then they disappeared into the shadows in a flash.


	9. Chapter Nine

"You think you can fix this?" Leo asked the officially woken up, and hyperactive Skye.

"Yep! I'm sure." She lifted up her hands, as if she wanted him to pick her up. Rolling his eyes, he swung her round and placed Skye on his shoulder. Biting her lip, she grabbed a hammer and the nails, and began to put all the metal pieces together.

They were trying to fix Festus. Without the missing parts, it was nearly impossible, but Leo wasn't going to give up so easily. "Hang on there, Festus, buddy."

Festus creaked. Well, it was more like a metallic snort. Leo translated,

_Where am I meant to hang onto, then? _

Leo gave an annoyed look at his metal dragon friend; Skye laughed at his comment.

"Quit with the sarcasm, dragon,"

Then frowning slightly, Leo turned to his sister. "You understand him?"

Skye nodded eagerly. "Of course. It's a Hephestus thing, right?"

Shrugging, he replied, "I guess so."

The rest of it was in silence, except Buford walking around and knocking into Leo every few minutes to give them something. This usually ended in Leo nearly tripping, knocking something over, like a spanner. This would bounce of two walls, Festus, the door, and knock out an innocent demi-god who was passing the cabin. That bad.

As Skye quietly leaned on Leo, he remembered last night with Nico and Reyna.

* * *

Reyna tried to calm a very ADHD son of Hades, and daughter of Hephestus, both who decided it was a good idea to start blowing up things. "NICO! SKYE! CALM DOWN OR NO MORE CHOCOLATE!"

They both shut up. Slowly, he backed away from the angry praetor, carrying Skye on his hip and ran away. Leo laughed, as he sat against the wall.

Absent-mindedly, he fiddled with his hammer from his tool-belt, as he watched, very entertained. Reyna noticed, and sat down next to him. She hadn't killed him yet, so Leo took that as a good sign.

"You really want to fix your dragon, don't you? What was his name...?" Reyna asked.

"Festus."

"You named your dragon, Happy?!"

"Err, yes."

She face-palmed and shook her head. "You almost seem hurried? What? Got someone waiting for you?" She teased, although she was joking. Leo should have been surprised, Reyna, joking.

But hurt filled up inside him, and he smile was snatched of his face and his brown eyes wandered off somewhere.

Reyna stopped. "Leo?"

Suddenly, Nico burst in through the door, Skye asleep in his chest. His dark black hair fell onto his eyes; he looked still the same, just slightly more happier.

"Hi. Please don't kill me."

Grinning a tiny bit, he lowered himself next to the pair. However, he began to frown when he saw the expressions on their faces.

"Guys...?"

"Who did you meet?" Reyna asked, although it sounded praetor-ish, as if it was an order. A curious and surprised look spread across Nico's face.

Leo's voice cracked slightly, "I... I will tell you, just not now. Someone, okay? I need to build Festus. He's my friend anyway."

Recognition and understanding crossed Reyna face. She nodded.

Nico, still curious, asked, "Why do you need to rebuilt only Festus? And how do you rebuilt him anyway?"

"Well..." Leo started, "In short words, I need Festus because he's amazing and has many powers and is ... different. I guess, I need, like a control disk, but... there was only one... and it's broken. They are really rare to find... I guess we just have to replace it with something which is quite similar. But, problem is, nothing is that powerful. Except for a new control disk. Which is virtually impossible to find in this century." He finished.

Nico leaned back, frowning, with a look on his face that resemble trying to remember something. You know, when something is right at the back of your head, but you can't reach it?

Shaking his head, he landed back into reality. "I don't know much about mechanics... unless they have something to do with ghosts or the underworld. " He smiled sadly.

A hand landed on their shoulders. Reyna. "Come on. All three of you. You should go back. It's getting late. Nico, you have enough energy to shadow travel? Are you kidding me, you better have. You drank enough coffee. " She pulled them both up. Nico handed Skye to Leo.

"Bye, then."

She gave a slight wave, before Leo grabbed Nico's arm and they entered into darkness.

_BAM! _

They landed somewhere next to the cabins in Camp Half-Blood. Nico suddenly collapsed.

"Please tell me you can walk to your cabin? ...Never mind." Leo groaned.

Sighing, he grabbed Nico and carried him on his left shoulder, whilst Skye was on his right. As he stepped into the Hades cabin, Skye woke up with the commotion.

"Huh?" Her dark curls were spread all over face as she slipped from out underneath Leo's arms.

Immediately, he dropped Nico onto the bed, and he snored lightly in his sleep. Just before they left, Skye kissed Nico on the cheek- he smiled in sleep, before exhaustedly turning over. Skye grabbed Leo's hand as they walked out of the cabin.

It wasn't very dark; demi-gods were still training. Without warning, they both knocked into Jason and Piper.

"Dude." Jason started. "Where in Hades were you?"

Leo shrugged, as Piper pulled his hand and dragged all of them to the training area.

Therefore, the trio and Skye spent the rest of the day sparring.

* * *

Nico woke up and yawned. He wondered what time it was; the sun was high in the sky.

Gods, it was the afternoon. He had overslept! Nico remembered last night and smiled; but something nagged in his brain. Ignoring it completely, he walked to the bathroom.

When he walked out, he closed the door. The cold metal almost burned and stung against his skin.

_Metal... metal...mechanics...Leo...Festus. _

Festus!

Overlooking the fact he was still in his pyjamas and he looked a mess, he ran out of his cabin. He received a few strange looks, and a weirdly a few swooning glances, but completely avoided them. On the way, he knocked into Percy and Annabeth.

"Nico...?"

"Sorry!" He yelled back, as he accidentally nearly flattened them. They glanced at each other and just started at him.

Abruptly, he rushed into the Hephestus cabin. Leo jumped and Skye dropped her tools. Festus creaked in annoyance.

"Nico, what is it?"

He gasped for breath.

"I can help you... with the someone..."

"Help with what?"

Nico fixed his gaze on them.

"I know how you can rebuilt Festus."


	10. Chapter Ten

"I think this is a bad idea." Nico whispered, looking slightly guilty.

"YOU THINK?!" Reyna and Leo whispered/yelled back.

"Look, kid, this is one place everyone dreads to be. Like, we'll be here one day." Leo reminded him.

They were in the underworld.

It was towering, and endless, covered in darkness. Nico had an idea, and without hesitation, they (after getting Reyna. Again) shadow travelled here.

"Well, there's no going back. We've gotten here so far." Reyna muttered very quietly.

All three of them had no intention to wake the dead.

"What if your father notices us?" Skye asks, who had been hiding behind Leo's legs.

"He, hopefully, will be with the dead. Anyway, he wouldn't notice me." He muttered.

Reyna and Leo shared a glance with each other, before looking forward again. This universe underneath the ground, seemed never-ending. The Fields of Punishment, and Asphodel were not so far away from them. At this thought, Leo shivered.

"How do you get used to this?" He asked Nico, who was concentrating, and was slightly psyched up, as if he was worried a ghost would just jump out from somewhere.

"I was born this way." He replied, not even looking at the older boy. "That's why everyone is scared of me."

Without thinking, he put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "I know how that feels." Leo did. Because of his fire powers, he had been kicked out of his family, and most people still tended to stay away from him. It wasn't his fault he was born like this.

Reyna flinched beside the boys, feeling guilty. Nico looked at Leo and smiled.

Tugging at Leo, Skye asked, "So, what was the plan again?"

Leo shrugged, "No idea. I kind went into excited-mode and lost the conversation"

Rolling his eyes, Nico explained, "Well, you see...haven't you heard of humans and people being buried with their most important possessions? Or like their dreams of possessions? You see, they are somewhere in the underworld. I asked my dad, and there's an exact place. That's where we're heading. I'm guessing the disk could have been buried as it was so important. And since there are two kids of Hephestus, you probably can feel it. Um... there's a problem. It still belongs to the dead. So if any mortals touch it, it burns them. So you can't touch anything. Somehow, you have to make it yours. "

"Are you saying we have to steal from the dead?" Leo asked incredulously.

"Um...yes." Nico says sheepishly.

"Brilliant. Okay, but where is it?"

Reyna shakes them from their conversation. "Err, guys... In front of you ..."

They all gasped.

"I've never been here before." Nico breathed.

Before them, was heaps and stacks of golden drachmas, glistening in the darkness. But hidden slightly, were statues, buildings and valuables. Leo could truly believe this was where the most important objects and possessions were.

"This is amazing..." Leo gaped at the sight. None of them moved for a while. Until Reyna shook Leo.

"Can you feel the disk somewhere around here?" She questioned.

Leo closed his eyes, and stood there. "I think so..." He replied, his voice very quiet. Slowly, and cautiously, he walked forward, holding on to Skye.

"How much I wish Hazel was here, " Nico said. Reyna nodded, in agreement.

"So...? What do we do now?" Reyna implied.

"Walk. Go forward." Nico held out his hands, almost shy.

Leo grabbed one, Reyna the other. Skye sat on Nico's shoulders, arms around his neck.

"Walking to our deaths again, huh? Can't wait to tell a teacher this. 'What do you do in your spare time, Leo?' 'Oh miss, I walk through the underworld to my death, fighting monsters. No biggie."

They all laughed.

"Very sweet, children. But I can't exactly let you in like that? It's forbidden. I thought you would know that, Son of Hades."

Reyna, Leo and Nico froze in their tracks. They spun around.

"Hello. I am Mr White. Welcome to this city. I'll try my best not to kill you. "


	11. Chapter Eleven

Leo noted something down in his mind: Never try and commit forbidden crimes in the underworld _and _get caught by a freaky, spirit ghost, who just happened to be guarding it. Never.

This apparently called 'Mr White' guy was a ghost. Not the fake ones with sheets on top of their head, but spirit like, as if you could walk through them. He was, well white, and a cold gust of wind would hit them if they got too close. Mr White was wearing a Greek toga, and would fiddle with it now and then. However, he also wore a tie, and a hat. Which made absolutely no sense.

"So, children." He smiled. "Do you like, my new sense of fashion?!" He asked.

Leo opened his mouth to say exactly what _he _thought, but Reyna punched him. He doubled up. "Ow."

Reyna grinned an un-Reyna smile, "It. Looks. Amazing. Do you work out?" Mr White flashed a ghost-beam at her.

"I like you. I might not kill you. The others...meh."

The demi-gods stood there, frozen with confusion of what to do.

Run? That was the best option, but they couldn't just turn back. Not now.

Leo decided they stick together (not literally) until one of them formed a plan.

That's when he realised; he looked around frantically.

Talking about sticking together...

Where was Skye?

Cautiously, he nudged both Reyna and Nico to see if they got the message. He made a small gesture with his hands; to show they were empty. Both their eyes widened with shock and panic.

"What is it? Look, you're the first company I've had in centuries. Please don't make you kill you just now. " Mr White claimed.

"Nothing. " They all quickly said in unison. Mr White raised his eyebrows, however said nothing.

"I know you're hiding something from me-"

_BOOM! _

Mr White's eyes grew and his image flickered with fury. "This was all a distraction. There was another one of you. You never told me. " He growled.

Anger flowing through his soul, the spirit conjured up thousands of skeletons, which burst through the ground and tried to grab them.

Reyna, Leo and Nico gazed through Mr White and saw Skye, who had created the explosion, grinning. When she noticed the skeleton hands, she screamed and ran over to Leo.

Everything was chaotic with ghosts and bones and monsters, and Mr White, in the middle of everything.

Suddenly Nico pushed them back and drew his sword.

"Go! Find the disk. I'll take him. I'm a son of Hades. I can interact with ghosts. Now!"

Mr White smirked. Leo started to hate him even more. "You think you can take me, you pathetic demi-god?"

Nico gave him a bold look. "Yes." Mr White yelled and they both charged.

Reyna quickly grabbed Leo and Skye and ran forward into the battle. But quicker than they expected, the skeletons had them cornered.

"Okay. This is kind of terrifying. Reyna, you have anything?" Leo asked.

"Nope." Reyna replied. Biting her lip, Skye turned around and tugged at Leo's t-Shirt. Finding the tool-belt, she took out a hammer and hit one of the skeletons. Without warning, it exploded into ashes.

Leo face-palmed. "You're amazing Skye! Skeletons are solid. We can kill them!"

Reyna, realisation spreading across her face, began to fight. "I'm going to help Nico destroy these creatures. Find the disks. The quicker we get out of here, the better. Remind me to never help you again." She was smiling slightly.

"Thanks."

Grabbing Skye's waist and pulling her up, he sprinted, avoided the possessions, because he didn't really want to get roasted to his death.

Wait a second.

Wasn't he immune to fire?

"Oh gods." He muttered. "I am so stupid."

Carefully, he touched a gold drachma. It sent a pulse against his skin, but didn't burn or injure him. Skye looked delighted at this discovery.

"Well, my friend, which way?"

Skye pointed not so far away, somewhere to his left. Dodging a bone, (that was probably Reyna. Not Reyna's but... you get the point. ) he kneeled behind a stack of gold drachmas and in front of _it. _

The disk.

Which could fix Festus.

Without hesitation, he clasped it in his fingers. Of course, it couldn't be that easy.

On spur of a moment, a ghost suddenly appeared.

Now Leo was getting very annoyed. "Okay, I'm getting slightly fed up of ghosts that want to kill me. Who are you now?"

The ghost smiled, almost holding back a laugh. "I'm the owner of that disk. The one you're holding."

"Oh." He looked down. "Um..."

"So, tell me half-brother, what do you need it for?"

"Half-brother...?"

"Of course, " The ghost replied, "How else would you find it?"

"Festus. I mean... he's broken, and this is the only thing that can fix him is this... please. He's my mate."

"Festus is still there? I didn't know."

Leo grinned, "Yeah,"

"Alone, huh? An extra wheel?" The Ghost asked. "I would know." His hands burst into lifeless flames. "I'm a fire user."

Leo stifled a gasp; Skye looked shocked. A sad expression entered his face. Leo willed his hands to set on fire. "Yeah. You're the last one..."

"Yep. My powers got too powerful. Just remember, just because you're dangerous, and you don't work well with life organisms doesn't mean you're alone. I did that. Remember that. Take it. The disk is yours. Say hello to Festus for me." His image began to flicker.

"Thank you." Leo whispered. The only person in the world that seemed to share his pain.

"You might think this is a curse, but it's also a gift. Good bye, brother," He smiled, then slightly frowned. "Just, be careful...girl...d-"

In a second, his whole vision was cut, and disappeared.

"What were you going to say?" Leo yelled, still holding on to disk. Someone shouted out from behind him.

Reyna. She had fallen down, tripping over the skeleton bones.

Tightening his grip on Skye and the disk, he raced to her and helped her up.

"Nico!"

The son of Hades cut short of his fight and ran to the demi-gods, sidestepping the beasts.

"Ready to go?"

"Now would be wonderful," Leo said.

Shaking his head, Nico grabbed onto everyone and merged into the darkness.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Leo officially had decided that he was going to buy himself a notebook, to write down all the advice he told himself.

_Never_ make Piper too proud, because she will have a crying/hugging fit. Even Jason looked sorry for him.

Skye, Leo, Reyna and Nico landed somewhere in Camp-Half-Blood, as they casually fell on each other. Exhausted, they didn't bother to do anything, for a while, until Leo straightened, and shook everyone. He still held the disk tightly in his long fingers. Leo stared at it in awe.

"We found it. The disk. Gods, we can fix Festus. This is...AMAZING!" Leo felt as if he could explode in happiness. Reyna and Nico shared a glance and smiled at each other.

Jumping up, Leo grabbed both Reyna and Nico and pulled them up; they brushed dust, and bones off their clothes.

"You guys are brilliant, you know that?All of you." The son of Hephestus said, ADHD working up. The demi-gods seemed almost uncomfortable that someone was being truthfully nice to them.

Reyna frowned at him; "Who was that ghost you were talking to?" Skye looked at Leo, as if waiting for an explanation.

"Um..., the disk belonged to another demi-god. It was a son of Hephestus, my half-brother technically. And, it was the last fire user... the one that caused the Great Fire of London. The powers were too much. He talked to me. I mean... he understood and..." He suddenly had a great interest in the floor.

Reyna fiddled with her burned toga. She never had taken in mind how powerful the fire user was. _He understood. _The last fire user had understood Leo's problems immediately, because he had gone through them. Reyna wanted to know more about fire users. Maybe he could ask the Vulcan. Only one was born only every century;She looked at Leo in sympathy.

Nico was the same. Both of them were mind-blowingly powerful, which scared their friends, and also made them on top of the _Wanted_ list. When travelling with Nico, he had spilled about his worst memories, and wondered if Leo had any. Maybe there was someone else behind the immature, funny and irresponsible mask.

"Reyna?" She shook herself out of her thoughts.

Leo was now grinning again, "We can fix Festus! I love you guys!" He grabbed a confused Reyna by the shoulders and kissed both her cheeks, leaving her flustered and annoyed. Then he stepped forward to Nico. The son of Hades scowled.

"Don't. Even_.Think_. About. It" Leo went for a bone-crushing hug instead. "Let go of me, you-" Nico bit his lip before he sent Leo to the underworld.

Carrying a giggling Skye, he skipped away to his cabin.

Reyna shook her head. "I think he's gone nuts."

Nico gave her a look. "_You think_?!"

* * *

"I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Piper said, grinning madly. She hugged her so hard and for so long, he was sure that Jason was going to get jealous. Of course, instead, Jason was standing at the door, smiling at his success, and looking sympathetic as Piper slowly killed him.

"I can't wait to have Festus back. I've missed him. And I know you have too. You'll be happy again." Another murderous hug.

Jason stifled a laugh. "I think there will be no Festus, as you're probably going to kill him" Piper smirked.

"Oh no, you're just jealous that I'm hugging Leo more than I'll ever hug you." Leo lifted a hand.

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No."

"Never mind,"

Finally, Piper let go of Leo and let his breathe. Sadly, she went to Skye.

"Hey Skye. I'm Piper. You're really adorable, and beautiful, you know that?" Skye hid behind her curls of hair. Piper silently squealed, something only a daughter of Aphrodite can do.

Piper stood up. "Well, Leo, If you ever need help, just ask for us. Jason and I and going to the training area. I'm going to beat him, hard. You coming?"

Hammering metal, Leo shook his head. "Maybe later."

Piper grabbed Jason hands, and walked to the door; just before she walked out, she spun and asked, "How did you find it? The disk. "

Shrugging, Leo said, "A long story."

She hesitated for a while, before waving goodbye.

Next it was Percy and Annabeth.

Percy had no idea about Festus, but he liked him immediately, even if Percy had no idea what the dragon was saying.

Annabeth also gave him a hug, and being Athena's daughter wanted to know _everything. _

After a while, she asked him if Leo could help with rebuilding Camp. Leo nodded, saying that he would do everything possible. Annabeth beamed.

"So, what do you do? Like, in your spare time." Percy asked Festus, playing with Skye.

_What do you think I do? I'm a dragon head. Well. I spent most of my time blowing things up with lasers and making everything smell of chicken nuggets. Otherwise, nothing. _

When Leo translated that, Percy had a fit, and Annabeth just (for the first time in his life) looked confused. Skye merely giggled at this comment.

Whilst Annabeth and Leo planned and make blue-prints for the camp, (Leo making stupid jokes the whole way through), Skye rode on Percy's back, and they ran around like headless chickens.

"Skye? You, know, I like your eyes, "

She smiled. "I like your eyes too. They're like the...sea."

"Yep. And yours is... almond. Like, really light coffee, or...um.." Annabeth rolled her grey eyes.

"Almonds?" She suggested. Percy clicked his fingers.

"Yeah! Almonds!" Annabeth gave Skye a look that said, _Boys, _

Leo stood up, offended, "Hey! I haven't said anything stupid so far!" Annabeth face-palmed, dropping her blue-prints. As she bent down frustratingly to get them, she said,

"You wanna bet?" Leo shook his head, slightly scared of this daughter of Athena. _  
_

_Slightly? I doubt it. Children of Athena's only powers might be to think, but they can be terrifying. Have you even met Athena? _

Leo looked around, trying to work out where that voice came from.

"Did you hear that?" Leo asked the three-demi-gods.

They all shook their heads, Annabeth getting the _I am suspicious. Very. _look on her face. However, it turned out to be nothing.

Sooner or later, they had to leave as Chiron called them .

Then came along, Hazel, and Praetor Frank.

Leo had always thought that Frank could be quite an awesome praetor; but he remembered something about Frank never being respected enough. Well, the big dude deserved it.

Now, Hazel. Hazel was a pretty girl from the 1900, and died trying to defeat Gaea. She could have gone to Elysium, but she didn't so her mother didn't have to go to the Fields of Punishment. Then, Nico brought her back alive. Before she died, she dated this guy called Sammy.

Sammy Valdez.

Which happened to be Leo's great-grand-father.

How complicated was his life? Frank didn't used to like Leo as much, but weirdly, he grew to him. Probably because of Hazel.

"Hey Leo! How life going?"

So, again, there were the questions, the playing, the answers. Leo explained about Festus and so, the whole afternoon went quickly.

* * *

Skye slept, snoring lightly on Leo's bed. On the other hand, Leo was awake, trying to hammer quietly the parts.

_"Hammer more quietly! You're scaring the birds!"_

_"Oh, no. The birds!"_

_._Leo could remember her so well. He remembered his promise.

_I coming back for you, Calypso. I swear on the river Styx_

At the same time, it terrified him so much. He had told no one about this. They had just been in a war, and they didn't need anything more to trouble them.

Something growled and glowed.

Heart pounding, he slowly, turned around.

"Festus?! Are you- Oh my gods!"

Leo went rigid, dropping his tools, as it clattered to floor.

Festus' eyes had gone crimson, like the colour of blood.

Leo's favourite colour was red, but not the type which was scary and murderous , the type you only saw them in horror movies.

Festus opened his mouth. But he could only transfer morse code messages. Obviously.

"Leo..." His voice sounded human... So much for obviously. Never mind.

"Listen to me."

"You are in grave danger."


	13. Chapter Thirteen

"Festus, what's going on? " Leo raised his voice.

"What in Hades are you?! Stop possessing my dragon!" Skye stirred in her sleep and turned over. Festus opened his mouth.

"Leo...listen to me..." However, it sounded extremely human. Probably like the person who was possessing his dragon "You are in danger...take take of...she's back...her spirit...Surprises..." Leo stepped forward, forgetting how dangerous that was.

"What? Who? Take care of who? What spirit? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Of course, Festus, no, the guy, couldn't answer that.

Festus, the dragon, roared, and his eyes stopped glowing. So loudly, everything around them fell off the shelves and fell down with a huge _CRASH. _

Skye immediately woke up and looked around. "What...? What's wrong with Festus?"

Leo looked at her. "I don't know... almost like he was giving me a warning..." Skye immediately straightened and was all ears.

Running and giving his dragon a hug, Leo asked, "What was that?"

Festus looked like he was frowning. Suddenly, Leo wished it looked more like a smile.

_I don't know. A presence. It was trying to transfer a message, but it couldn't. So it went away. But I can still feel it in the room. _

Slightly panicked, Leo looked around, Nothing.

"What's going on?" He whispered.

* * *

Nico walked through the crowds, avoided anyone's eye contact. He wore an ordinary black skull t-shirt and jeans, but decided to ditch the jacket. People tended to tell him that it was too hot to wear a jacket, however he tended to ignore. It was a free country; he could wear he wanted.

Weirdly, he was heading to the Hephestus place. He was always so lonely, and tried very hard to try and not make friends, or relationships. He knew what happened what happened in the end; he was a son of Hades.

And of course, Hazel _had_ to come in. But he didn't have the heart to ignore her forever, because she was in the same situation as him. Then it was Reyna, someone who treated him as a younger brother, and cared for him, even though she was a praetor and everything. Leo wasn't so bad either. He was like a slightly annoying but caring older brother, who was always by his side. It was weird, but actually, Nico was quite thankful.

But then there was Skye. There was something amazingly magical about that girl. She might have been only about 4, but she was intelligent, and special. Nico had no idea why, but she was. She was probably the first child to be not scared or terrified of him. Instead, she looked up to him. Nico had silently promised himself,_  
_

_I will not let this girl down, and be by her side always and protect her from any danger. _

The sunlight burned on his pale skin. Well. It wasn't so pale anymore. Because of all the time he was spending in the sun, his olive skin had returned. It had been a while since...

Tartarus.

Percy and Annabeth had no idea how lucky they were to have each other. _They jumped in Tartarus for each other. _

He, on the other hand, had been all by himself, and had to survive, and not lose his sanity.

_Stop remembering everything, bad, Nico. _

Lost in his thoughts, he accidently bumped into a Cherokee pretty girl. She fell backwards and onto the floor.

Piper. Jason's boyfriend.

_Don't think of Jason, Don't think of Jason, Don't think of Jason, Don't think of Jason, Pretend he doesn't know your secret, Pretend he doesn't know your-_

Piper, slightly backed away, "Um. I'm so-" Another person that was _still_ terrified of him.

"Sorry!" Nico exclaimed. Grabbing her muddy hands, he gently pulled her up. Piper looked into his eyes, surprised.

"Thank you, Nico." She whispered.

"You're welcome," He replied quickly, before running past her. Suddenly, he heard a huge _CRASH!_

It sounded a lot like tons of metal. Nico suddenly ran into the cabin, and found a scared Leo and a dragon. Leo was breathing rapidly, and Skye just looked shocked.

"What happened?" Nico asked.

Leo took a deep breath. "Festus just got possessed. He said... I was in danger, and all this whatnot."

Nico sat down on the bed, careful not to make it messy, and placed Skye on his lap.

"Look. Tell me anything that has been going on that's weird. I'll listen and help you. I promise you."

Leo sighed. He might regret this decision, but it was tearing at him, and he needed someone to tell. Nico waited, whilst Skye fell asleep on his lap.

And Leo told him everything. About Calypso, and how much she hated him, and he hated her, and everything that gone on between them. About the kiss. His voice cracked at the end, and he didn't finish. Leo said nothing about the oath; it was too dangerous.

When he was finished, he looked up again, and saw Nico smiling. "Wow. Talk about a love story. Aphrodite is probably shipping that hard. I don't know what to do. But, I will help you make it, whatever happens. We'll make Festus. But how are we going to find island? No one can return to it twice."

"The astrolabe."

"Errrr...what astrolabe?"

Leo sighed. "Years and years ago, there was Odysseus. And... he was stranded on the island and everything, but he had to leave of course. That was the curse. However, he wanted to return and made this astrolabe, right? And... well, you see these dwarf people-"

"Dwarf people?" Nico asked startled.

"Yes. Dwarf people. And they stole it from Odysseus, when he was asleep, and he said something like'The crystal, all I needed was the crystal,' So, I took a crystal from Calypso's garden and so I have a chance. All I need to do is fix the astrolabe, because it's slightly broken and yeah... But , you see, there's a problem."

"What?"

"I have no idea what to do with it. I don't even know if I should do anything. So many things have been warning me about Zeus-knows what, and, what if Calypso doesn't even love me?" " Leo replied.

"Helpful. But, seriously, the fates didn't _exactly_ bring you there, Khione did. You guys weren't meant to fall in love. It wasn't because of the curse, it was actually because of you. Don't look at me! I don't know. Anyway, are you going to tell anyone else about her?"

Leo frowned, and placed his head in his hands. "I don't know... when Percy told them, it spread like Greek fire. Maybe not now exactly..."

Nico nodded and stood up, heading towards the door. "Well...since you're kind of busy..."

"I'm not-" Leo started.

That was when the most blood-curling scream rung in the air, followed by a deadly silence.


End file.
